Alkaline Longevity

[Lightmeup]

I know that alkaline batteries have a reputation for leaking. I was wondering if anyone knew why, or what factors increase the probability of leakage? Some thoughts:
1. Are they any more or less likely to leak if they are installed in a piece of equipment, versus uninstalled?
2. If they are installed, say in a flashlight, are they more or less likely to leak if the flashlight is not used, versus used periodically?
3. What factor does age play in the above scenarios?
Thanks....

 

[Doug Owen]

I think the general consensus is current draw (using them) and heat are what increases your chances of leaks.

Turn the flashlight on and leave it in a warm/hot place and your odds go way up.

Store unused cells in a cool place and your chances are almost none.

Doug Owen

 

[eluminator]

Mine don't leak. I have several flashlights for emergency use at home and in the car. I rarely use them. I check them once a year or so. If they seem a little dim I throw out the batteries and put in a new batch. Those in the car seem to last about 5 years. In my home they last longer.

One thing that encourages leaks is to mix batteries of different batches or batteries previously used. The weakest cell can easily be driven to it's death and leak.

For regular flashlight use I use rechargeables. I have an Arc AAA in my pocket, an Arc AA and Streamlight 3C in the refrigerator, and a SLA spotlight in the cupboard. No room for the SLA in the fridge /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

 

[mrme]

It seems to me certain batches tend to leak more than others.
I found some Raovac alkalines at a dollar store and noticed that a couple of the packs had leaking batteries in them. I guess I wasn't thinking and I bought a bunch. I have been hesitant to use them. I had a set leak in a headlamp less than a week after I installed the batteries.

Just one case is not enough to establish much, but it is worth considering.

My experience otherwise has been batteries leak when they get wet, orwhen they sit with little or no juice in them for a long time.

Edit: I know many of you will want to know, they were Rayovac Medical batteries that had an expired promotion in the package.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

It is my understanding that to remain competitive and squeeze the last mAh into each cell, the outer skin and the inner layers keep getting thinner and thinner in an attempt to get more layers(?)/chemicals into each cell. This means that today's cells are going to be more fragile than older cells.

[ QUOTE ]
...I found some Raovac alkalines at a dollar store and noticed that a couple of the packs had leaking batteries in them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Last year someone posted that they worked in a hardware store and saw new cells, still in their packaging, leaking even before they could be stocked on the shelves.

IMO if you see new cells leaking in their original packaging, it's probably a very strong indication that at some point the whole case -- or perhaps a whole pallet of cases, has been damaged by being dropped somewhere.

Just one possible explaination...

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I haven't seen any definate logic about batteries leaking, but here are some of my observations:
storing used batteries in heat, I think once a battery gets a certain amount drained/used excess heat may add to the chance of leaking.
allowing batteries to get nearly discharged and sit in a device for extended periods, more of my cells that have leaked were dead or had 1/3 or less capacity left.
I also notice that the more batteries a sealed up in a device and cannot *breathe* the more often I find they leak, it could be increased pressure on the cells in storage encourages leakage. I find even when cells leak, those that have more room to breathe seem to show less leakage.

I havent found any logic on brands with leakage but heavy duty cells IMO are leak prone when drained fully. The chances of leakage are very high, alkaline tends to leak less by a factor of about 3 but I haven't found any brand to leak more than another. Perhaps quality control various per batch on the seals which I am guessing is the source of most leakage problems.

 

[Lightmeup]

Thanks for your replies. So, is it recommended to store new alkalines in the refrigerator? What about lithiums? What about the freezer?

 

[Lynx_Arc]

[ QUOTE ]
lightmeup said:
Thanks for your replies. So, is it recommended to store new alkalines in the refrigerator? What about lithiums? What about the freezer?

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless you cannot store them in temps below about 85 degrees , I don't think storing them in a fridge or freezer wont make enough difference unless you plan on stocking up for over 5 years of cells... then perhaps you may be talking about saving about 5% capacity perhaps on alkalines and about half that or less on lithiums.

 

[Steve C]

I just trashed a 3D MagLite due to a leaking alkaline D cell. These were government-contract batteries that have been stored properly (i.e., not in a hot environment), but they are more than five years old, for sure.

The light was not used regularly; it was a "spare" kept in a closet.

I knew that zinc-carbon batteries were prone to leak; I thought alkalines were pretty much immune to that. You learn something new everyday.

I can certainly believe the case thickness/quality control theory. Seems like everything is succumbing to that sort of cost-cutting these days.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

If you find a brand that hasn't leaked tell me because the consensus seems to be ALL of them have leaked on someone. Another possible source of problems could be in shipping and warehousing. Perhaps manufacturers don't use refridgerated trucks to ship them and in summer it gets miserably hot in trucks, expanding the seals and cells then the batteries sit on the shelves or in a stockroom for several months before being sold. It could be by the time you get them in your light they have been heated up and cooled down 3-4 times for most brands. I would even guess your government batteries may have only been in a proper environment once they arrived at the storage facility.

This is just a warped theory though... I am probably mistaken about it.

 

[Lurveleven]

I have never have had any Panasonic PowerMax AA/AAA batteries leak. That are the batteries I have used most the last 5 years. But where I live it is not very hot so they would not be affected by sever heat up.


Sigbjoern

 

[AngelEyes]

Lithium batts dont leak, do they?

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I just had a rayovac alkaline battery leak on me and discovered something interesting. I was using 4 dead AA batteries to power a brinkman circuit driving a single 5mm LED as a night light. I forgot to turn if off before I went to sleep and checked it before bed tonight to find it wasn't working. The battery that leaked I checked with a digital meter and it measures -0.17v, yes.... it reversed!

This leads me to conclude one possibility of batteries leaking is them reversing in use and even after they normalize when not in use perhaps the reversal damages them.
This would perhaps occur more often in lights with more than 2 cells I would guess. Anyone else find leaking cells either voltage reversed or measuring perhaps under 0.2v?

 

[eluminator]

Dead batteries leak. That's not news.

 

[Lurker]

Dead batteries and I suspect also old batteries. If the battery is past its expiration date, it is time to toss it or use it up quickly and then toss it.

Don't store things with batteries installed.

 

[eluminator]

I've got batteries so old they don't have an expiration date. I am getting rid of them, but they haven't leaked. I came across a flashlight in the trunk of my car that had Sears Diehard D cells in it. I bought those, actually a box of 12, over 15 years ago. They were probably in my freezer for 10 years, and then in the car for 5 years. They still worked but the light was a little dim, so I changed batteries.

A few days later I discovered another flashlight in the trunk. I guess that has been there at least 5 years. It still worked but again was a little dim. It was an Eveready Union Carbide flashlight with undated Eveready Union Carbide D cells. I think I will retire this flashlight from active duty. I have a Streamlight ProPolymer under the seat and an original Inova X5 in the glove box, and of course an Arc triple A (NiMH) in my pocket, so I should be good to go.